Royal Nordic couple visit Nordic Innovation House in Silicon Valley

Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel got a preview of new Nordic technologies at the Nordic Innovation House in Silicon Valley. (Photo: Annika Lehes)

Published 20/01/2015

The Swedish Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel became the first Royal guests to visit the newly opened Nordic Innovation House and meet its startups.

The Royal visit at the Nordic Innovation House is part of a three-day study trip to Silicon Valley and San Francisco, where the couple will get to know the growing ecosystem of Nordic startups, investors and companies. This is the first time that the newly opened Nordic Innovation House have Royal visitors. But in Silicon Valley there seems to be good business in branding yourself as Nordic-made

- Silicon Valley is not just a port of entry for the U.S. market, it is also a key gateway to the global market. Partnerships and collaborations between Nordic companies and businesses in Silicon Valley lead to shorter time to market and create great technology and innovation, says Ann-Sofie Safa, acting country manager USA, Business Sweden.

To see more pictures from the Royal Visit, click on to Nordic Innovation Houses Facebook page.

A soft landing concept for startups entering US market

All the Nordic countries’ bridge organisations in Silicon Valley have decided to pool resources and collaborate – which is really unique. Instead of working separately startups can now tap into a shared Nordic community of technology partners, investors and service providersers. A decision that is popular in the highly competitive Valley startup environment.

– Investors are already working on a Nordic level, and encourages the idea of Nordic, rather the national efforts, as the probability of finding high quality companies increases, say project partners Gro Eirin Dyrnes (NO) and Lene Schulze (DK).

It has been some hectic first months. Over 70 Nordic tech startups have applied to be part of the co-working space, more than 300 people visit Nordic Innovation House monthly and a handful of startup events have been hosted. All in a joint effort to write new Nordic entrepreneurship history.

Attachments

The Nordic High Growth Entrepreneurship Initiative

Young innovative companies are vital for the future competitiveness of the Nordic region. They accelerate productivity by challenging existing firms, lead the development of industries, and create new jobs and economic growth. Nordic Innovation recognizes the importance of well-functioning growth ecosystems, and want to contribute to creating an environment where ambitious entrepreneurs can thrive and create innovative and globally competitive growth companies.

In June 2013 Nordic Innovation launched a call for proposals under the Nordic High Growth Entrepreneurship Initiative. After a thorough review of the 51 applications, 10 projects were selected for funding. The Nordic innovation House in Silicon Valley being one of them.